Nigeria crisis: President Buhari unites his predecessors
After the violence and riots shaking Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari spoke on Friday with all the former Nigerian heads of state still alive, during a virtual meeting.
© Nigeria Presidency
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
As the crisis continues in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari spoke this Friday, October 23 with his predecessors, including Goodluck Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo, during a virtual meeting.
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With our correspondent in Abuja
,
Liza Fabbian
According to the statement released by the Nigerian presidency, the Head of State once again regretted that the youth protests had been "
hijacked
" by "
thugs
" and "
gradually became violent
".
Let us recall that observers and demonstrators believe rather that it is the authorities who paid and armed gangs of thugs to break their movement and justify its repression.
During this meeting, which was also attended by the heads of the Nigerian security agencies, Muhammadu Buhari once again recalled that he responded to the demands of the protesters, by promising among other things a reform of the police.
“
Unfortunately, (these) refused to stop their demonstrations and to dialogue with the government,
” regretted the Nigerian head of state, who still has
not said a single word about the bloody intervention
of the army Tuesday night in Lagos.
►Read
: Nigeria: after a "bloody Tuesday", violence continues in Lagos
This meeting was obviously intended to show the support of the former heads of state.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who urged the president to speak as early as Wednesday, praised Muhammadu Buhari for his “
speech last night
”.
Your "
arguments were fair and deserve to be welcomed
", he declared in particular.
Curfew eased in Lagos
Several states in Nigeria have been shaken by violence, looting, fires and riots since the start of the week but this Friday evening in Lagos, the situation seems to calm down.
The police have regained control of many axes previously occupied by wild roadblocks, even if the airport road is still difficult to pass.
The curfew that was decreed in the city on Tuesday will be eased from Saturday, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Traffic restrictions still apply in many states in the southern half of Nigeria.
Since Thursday, several hangars containing food for families affected by the coronavirus crisis have been looted in Lagos, Calabar, and in Ondo and Kwara states.
►
Also to listen
: Nigeria: an unprecedented protest
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